Why do Xiaomi and Philips smart light bulbs need a bridge?

The Internet is everywhere and has spawned many new products. It has affected family life and resulted in smart home products. Light bulbs are one of the representative products. Light bulbs that are embedded in the Internet of Things module and controlled through a mobile phone APP to adjust brightness and save energy are called smart light bulbs. The supporting hardware of Apple's HomeKit application includes smart light bulbs. This is also our first opportunity to learn about smart light bulbs. This set of smart light bulbs was developed by Philips and supports WiFi connection and APP control. In addition to standard white and yellow light, it can also change tens of thousands of colored lights. There are only so many features of smart light bulbs, but they are expensive, with a single light bulb costing US$60 and a set (3 bulbs + 1 controller) costing US$199. Regardless of the quality, function and price of the bulb, the controller occupies a considerable part of the cost price.

Philips Hue can be said to be an earlier batch of smart light bulbs. It is characterized by the need for a bridge (controller) to group multiple light bulbs on the same network, and the bridge is connected to the home router. However, with the popularity of smart home products, there are more and more single-product WiFi smart light bulbs, and the price of smart light bulbs that are separated from the bridge is falling. Does this mean that the original smart light bulbs will be eliminated by the market? Searching for "smart light bulbs" on a universal shopping website, according to their comprehensive ranking, the price of these domestic smart light bulbs is around 100 yuan/piece. They support mobile APP control and remote control, and can also change multiple colors. Compared with the Philips Hue smart LED light bulb set, the price of the former is more attractive.

Smart light bulb multi-color display

Of course, there are also domestic smart light bulbs with bridges, such as the Xiaomi Yeelight, which has been hotly discussed a while ago. Its bridge is smaller, but currently it can only be bound to Xiaomi routers, which is a bit restrictive in terms of operation and use. The role of smart light bulb bridge So the question arises, why can’t Yeelight smart light bulbs be plug-and-play like Philips? Obviously this is closely related to Xiaomi’s smart home strategy. In the author's opinion, for Philips smart light bulbs, its role as a bridge is to reduce the router load and control all smart devices connected to the controller through one control terminal. This is like a smart home control center. All accessories communicate with each other through low-power protocols, and more smart light bulbs can be added.

Philips Hue Bridge

Xiaomi Yeelight creates a smart home entrance. From a functional point of view, Yeelight and Philips Hue smart lights need a bridge for the same purpose. The difference is that because Xiaomi wants to create a smart home entrance through smart routing, it has put a lot of effort into the software and hardware design of this smart light bulb. The bridge can currently only be connected to Xiaomi routers, which means that if you want to use this smart light bulb, you must first purchase a router.

Yeelight smart light bulb adapter

Secondly, it follows the usual low price strategy. A single smart light bulb is 179 yuan, and its functions are exactly the same as Hue. I wonder if you bought its router because you wanted to try out smart lights? After all, a router can do more. No matter what the purpose is, there are many smart light bulbs with bridges, and representative products abound. So what role does wifi light bulbs play in the smart home market? Next let’s compare. Analysis: Do smart light bulbs need a bridge? A bridge can connect multiple light bulbs, reducing the burden on home routers; it can also become the entrance for manufacturers to build smart homes. From the perspective of home networking environment, the author recommends that users choose this method. Although the price is slightly higher, multiple smart products can be controlled through one control terminal. As for WiFi smart light bulbs, they inherit the common features of current smart home products and are the operating methods and products recognized by most consumers. The disadvantage is that it limits the number of connections. Multiple smart bulbs are connected to the same router, which increases the burden on the router. The advantage is that it is cheap, and friends who want to try smart products can buy one to play with. Regarding smart light bulbs, they don’t have many functions, and their usefulness varies from person to person. Let's take Philips Hue as an example. In addition to changing the color of the light, it can also implement the IFTTT function and execute passwords through the light bulb. However, the function of the smart light bulb is limited to this, and it will lose interest after a long time. Under the right circumstances, if you are pursuing low prices, you can choose wifi light bulbs, but if you want to build a system,Package products obviously have advantages.